Wheel driven stone gathering machine



NOVQ18, 1952 c EGSTAD 2,618,111

WHEEL DRIVEN STONE GATHERING MACHINE Filed NOV. 21, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 5Q 38 Q Q/ 40 Q a INVENTOR.

C. A. EGSTAD WHEEL DRIVEN STONE GATHERING MACHINE Nov. 18, 1952 2 Sl-IEETS -SHEET 2 Filed Nov. 21, 1950 INVENTOR. CHAPAE-S'A V N 525515, "RTE" BY 76mm w mm A 7' TOP/VAFVJ Patented Nov. 18, 1952 WHEEL DRIVEN STONE GATHERING MACHINE Charles A. Egstad, Badger, Minn.

Application November 21, 1950, Serial No. 196,862

stone-gathering machine.

An object of this invention is to provide a stone-gathering machine which is particularly adapted to traverse a field having random'dis- 'persed stones thereon for arranging said stones in neat, orderly rows.

Another objectof this invention is to provide a stone-gathering machine adapted to traverse a relatively wide span of the field that has been cultivated in a manner to expose stones and to collect these stones in said span and arrange said exposed stones in a row disposed centrally of said span.

A further object of this invention is to provide a stone-gathering machine which is'provided with novel supporting means on the stonecollecting arms to thereby adapt the machine to run over obstructions in a manner to avoid injury to said machine.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a stone-gathering machine which is particularly adapted for attachment to a piece of farm equipment, such as a tractor.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a wheel-driven stone-gathering machine which is relatively simple in structure and cheap to manufacture.

The above and still further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a top plan view of the stone-gathering machine of the present invention shown traversing or straddling a relatively wide span of a field that has been cultivated, in a manner to expose stones;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail View, with parts broken away and shown in section, of the stonecollecting arm of the machine of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a rear elevational view, with parts in sec-tion, showing the rear supporting legs and wheels of the mobile frame of the stone-gathering machine of the present invention; and I Figure 7 is an elevational view, with parts broken away and shown'in section, of a modi- 3 Claims. (Cl. 55-17),

fied form of the stone-collecting arms for u'se in conjunction with the stone-gathering machine'of the present invention. Referring now more particularly to the'drawings, wherein like reference numerals have'been used throughout the several views to designate like parts, there is shown the wheel-driven, stone-gathering machine of the present invention, generally designated by the reference numeral I0, which is adapted to traverse a predeitermined span of a field ll having randomly dispersed stones l2 scattered thereabout, the stones being exposed, due to the cultivation o The machine In is adapted for 'attachmentto any suitable piece of farm equipment, such as a tractor, and comprises a mobile frame l3 including rotatable ground-engaging wheels l4, l5, and a pair of rearwardly converging supporting bars I'S, l1, having their convergent ends spaced from each other. The converging supporting bars 13, H are supported in spaced-apart relation with respect to each other by means of the crossbars I8, l9 and 20, which extend-between the bars I6, I! and are secured therebetween by welding or any other suit-able means. Extend;- ing longitudinally of the mobile frame I3 are the spaced brace bars 2| and 22, which are secured to the crossbars l8, l9 and 20, and the converging supporting bars I 6, I1, and have end portions projecting rearwardly of the spaced convergent ends of the supporting bars I6, I1; As clearly shown in Figure 1, the spaced bars 21', 22 cooperate withthe crossbars l8, l9 and 20-"to maintain the convergent ends of the'supp9rting bars I6, 11 in spaced apart relation with'respect to each other. Mounted on the rearwardlyprojecting ends of the bars 2|, 22 are the depend,- ing legs 23, 24 which have their upper ends 25, 26 rotat-ably journ-aled on the bars 2|, 22 for rotary movement about vertical axes and have their lower ends 21, 28 disposed substantially horizontally and carrying the rear ground-6, 1- gaging wheels 29, 30. The rear ground-engaging wheels 29, 30 and the front ground-engaging wheels I4, I 5 cooperate to support the main-body of the frame for movement across the field to be traversed.

The front ground-engaging wheels 14, |5Aare supported by means of the legs 3|, 32, which are provided with the bearings .33, 34 for the re ception of the stub shafts 35, 36 carried by the wheels I4, 15. It is to be noted that the .stub shafts 35, 36 project inwardly of the bearings 33, 34 for a purpose to be subsequently described,

Positioned forwardly of the mobile frame I3 is a drawbar 31 which includes a pair of convergent arms 38, 39 having their convergent ends connected together and provided with means 40 for the attachment to the piece of farm equipment to the employed for urging the windrower over the field l I. The divergent ends of the arms 38, 39 are pivotally connected to the crossbar l8 of the mob'ilez'frame l'3w'by means o'f the hinges ll, 42. "The "drawb'ar is furtherprovided with longitudinally extending brace bars 43, 44, each of which has one end connected to the adjacent one of the convergent arms 38,;39 and1hastthe other end pivotally connected to'the crossbarz l t by means of the hinges 45, 46. p v

Arranged in side-by-side spaced rela-tion along each of the supporting barsalfi, J1 aretheistoneengaging and collecting arms 50. As clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3, each of the-arms il has its upper end pivotally supported on the :horizontallyl disposed ,iaxle :5! which is ;-carried :contiguons :to sand cspaced :below zthe'riadjacent .one of the supporting bars 16, 11. :Eaohvofthe =-ston'e-iengaging fand tcollecting arms .50 ;hasjf its flower-end turned inwardly, as designated by the :reference numeral 52;Figure*3, and the inwardly turne'dend of the armsaandftheside walls thereof; cooperaterto rformw a forwardly-opening scoop adapted;tozengageztheestones 12 on the field 1 I. -Itf=is :to: be noted that the? spacing of the adjarcentnarmss 50 is selected '1 to assure engagement mlthtallcstonesiofzanyaxsignificant size.

: 'SuitableLmeans are provided whichare operatively connected to the ground-engagingwheels .;l.5:zand:'engageablethe arms 50 carried lf myjhe' convergent supporting .bars 16,11 for -sequentia-'lly:zeffecting ,the: oscillatory; movement of ,the, tarmszz: 50' about the i'horizontal taxis ::provid ed byE3theiaxle15 lyinzresponse: to the :rotary movementiofifthe fronttground engaging wheels l4, l5.

fllie a'forementioned means embodies: the shafts 55,55fiwvhichaareldisposedlongitudinally and rearwar'dlysofzaeach ofiitheisupporting bars 'l6, l1,

.- an'd;-'rotatably: journaled ionlthe mobile framev l 3 'by smeansofith'exspaced :bearings "51, 58 carried contiguous'zto thessupporting :bar I6 and the spaced bearings lllfl,"fiflz'carried-contiguous: to the supporti=ng bar l 1. :Means,:: generally designated by the rreference numerals":6l,-=62 -.are provided for operatively connecting z'the-shaft 56 to the ground-engaging wheel: 15,1 whereby, uponxrotary movement -of3 .the: groundi-'engaging:rwheels, :a ro- .tary movement iwillv be; impartedrfto" the shafts 5'3,

5'6, =Since-each ofithe icouplingimeans 6|, J62

ronelin-idetail. Ihe c-oupling means .6! embodiesa 'sprocket wh'eel '63" carried: on the adjacent projecting end' of the stub shafi35 :ofrthe' ground-engaging Wheel 14. Disposediin substantial :alignment *with the sprocket whee1i -63: is :a second :sprocket wheelfli 4 which is rotatably j ournaledton' the "m0- bil'e frame: l 3, an'dis coupledto thetsprocket wheel '63 bymeans of a schainiztt. As .fcl'early shown :il'l 'Figure fithe sprocket'wheel 364 is castiintegrally Accordingly, upon effecting the rotary movement of the ground-engaging wheel l4, a rotary movement will be imparted to the drive gear 6'! through the chain-coupled sprockets 63, 64. Carried by the adjacent projecting end of the shaft 55 is a pinion 12 which is in meshing engagement with the drive gear 61 and couples the drive gear to the shaft 55. Accordingly, a rotary movemerit 'Willbe .i'e'ffiected to ithe 'sha'ttl55 ingresponse to the rotary movement-of the ground-engaging wheel I 4. Similarly, the ground-engaging zwheel i5 is coupled to the shaft 56 for effecting therotarymovement of the latter in response to @the movement of the former.

To couple the arms 50 to the shafts 55, 56, each of 'the arms 50 isprovided with a rearwardly cproiectin lplate-lLprovided with a longitudinally extending slot "'14 for the extension there- ,thr'ough-of the adjacent one of the shafts. Since the structure for coupling the arms carried by the-convergent. supporting bars l tato athee shaft 55 is the same as the structure forcouplingthe :arms-carried ,bysthe supporting .bar .17 to athe shaft 156, it --Wi11 J sufiice to describe only one detail. Referring :now with ,particularity r-to Figures 2, 3- andc5, thereisshow-n thepplates 13 carried by the arms 50 ofthesupportingbar I 6- having the shaft 55 extending through the ,slot 14 provided in -.the ,plate 13. :Fixedly secured to the; shaft 55 a at spaced "intervals there- -a1ong -are=the cams 5-whichare engageable with the bounding walls of the adjacent :one of :the 'slots 'l luof the plates 'l.3. As clearly =shown in Figure 5, the cams 15 of the adjacent arms-50 .areoffset with. respect to each other at a predetermined sang-leyto thereby sequentially efiect the-oscillatory movement -.of the-rarms-5fl incresponseto thezrotary movement of thelgrou-ndengaging wheels l4, l5. Itvisxto be-.-noted that the sequence of the oscillatory:movementofthe adjacent sarms can :be varied by selectively varying the disposition of the -a'dj acent-drive cams. Under -particular =-operating conditicns, it may be desirable to employ an angular offset other than the :9o-tdegree' -,offset -.between adjacent .camsl illustrated in the drawings.

In a'ctual use, the -drawbar coupling means-=40 is connected to the desired piece-of-farmequipment, ,forexamplawa tractor, and-the mobile frame -13 is-then moved-across thefield H to be worked. -As the mobile :frame :is -moved across the field, the ground-engaging wheels I 4, I5--wi1l drivethe shafts-55,-5B- -carrying therside-by-side, spaced, stone-engaging and collecting alarms. 11 1622113115 -will be oscillated in a sequencepredetermined by .theangular offset ofttheadjacent cams l5, 1 theoffset :being\ arranged rforuthe particular operating -,condi-tions eencountered. The oscillatory movement of the arms--50-wi1lurg-e the rocks [,2 :rearwardlys-along the converging supportingzbars 4116,; l I lof-lthezmobile frame until the rocks-are deposited substantially intermediate the spaced convergent ends of thesarms 1 6, L-as illustrated inFigures t1 and-6. :Accordingly, the normally random dispersed .stones found on-the cultivated field are arranged ;in a neat, .orderlylrow. It is to be notedthatthe machine traverses a Trelatively widespan- .of the field and collects the stones in "this spa-n --and forms a row -=disposed substantially centrally Y of the span. Any-.predeterminedspan widthcan be selected "by varying --the size of :the mobile frame.

I-mFigure '7 :there-isshown amodifiedaformiof the -.-s-tone-engaging and tcollecting warms :"-to the employed with the machine of the present invention, the modified arm being generally designated by the reference numeral 80. The modified arm 88 is particularly adapted to adapt the machine to run'over obstructions in a manner to avoid injury to the structural components of the machine.- The arm 80 embodies a fixed upper section 8| which has one end pivotally mounted by means of the axle 5| on the mobile frame. Disposed in end-to-end, aligned relation with respect to the other end of the fixed upper section 8| is a movable lower section 82 which is pivotally supported on the upper section 8| by means of the hinge 83'. It is to be noted that the sections 8| and 82 of the modified arm 88 are formed substantially in the same manner as is the arm 50. Operatively connecting the sections 8| and 82 together and normally maintaining saidisections in alignment is a resilient means 83. The resilient means 83 illustrated is in the form of a coil spring having one end fixedly secured to the upper section 8| by means of the projecting lug 84 and has the other end connected to the section 82 by means of the projecting lug 85. It is to be noted that the resilient means183 is disposed on the forward side of the arm 80, while the hinge pin 83' is disposed on the rearward side of the arm 80. Accordingly, upon passing over an obstruction, the lower section 82 can be urged out of the position of alignment into the broken line position illustrated in Figure 7. In this manner, when an extremely large obstruction is encountered, of a size sufficiently large to overcome the bias of the spring 83, the arms will by-pass the obstruction and thereby avoid injury to the body of the machine. It is to be noted that the plate 13 is cut away, as designated by the reference numeral 81 and is only secured to the upper section 8| of the arm 80'. The plate 13 is provided with a slot 14 which is engaged by the adjacent one of the cams in the manner previously described.

It is readily' apparent that numerous other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A stone gathering machine for attachment to a farm tractor comprising a horizontally disposed frame including a pair of supporting bars arranged in converging relation with the convergent ends being spaced from each other and spaced cross bars connecting said supporting bars together, a ground engaging wheel arranged adjacent to'and supporting each of the divergent ends of said supporting bars, an axle arranged below and in longitudinal spaced relation with respect to; each of said supporting bars and dependingly supported thereon, a plurality of vertically disposed arms arranged in side by side spaced relation along each of said axles and each having the upper end pivotally connected to said axle and 'having the lower end adapted to engage stones projecting from a ground surface, a. vertically disposed plate provided with a vertical closed slot projecting longitudinally from the back ;.'of each of said arms intermediate the upper and lower ends thereof, a rotatable shaft arranged below and in parallel spaced relation to each of said axles and extending through the slots of the plates of the arms pivotally connected to the adjacent axle, a plurality of cams arranged in spaced offset relation along and fixedly carried by each of said rotatable shafts" with a cam positioned within and engageable with the 6 bounding wall of a slot of the adjacent plate, and means drivingly connecting each of said rotatable shafts to the ground engaging wheel supporting the divergent ends of the supporting bars.

2. A stone gathering machine for attachment to a farm tractor comprising a horizontally disposed frame including a pair of supporting bars arranged in converging relation with the convergent ends being spaced from each other and spaced cross .bars connecting said supporting bars together, a ground engaging wheel arranged ad- J'acent to and supporting each of the divergent ends of said supporting bars, a pair of spaced brace bars extending longitudinally of and between said convergent supporting bars and secured to said cross bars, said brace bars having end portions projecting through and beyond the convergent spaced ends of said convergent supporting bars, a ground engaging wheel supporting each of the projecting end portions of said brace bars, an axle arranged below and in longitudinal spaced relation with respect to each of said supporting bars and dependingly supported thereon, a plurality of vertically disposed arms arranged in side by side spaced relation along each of said axles and each having the upper end pivotally connected to said axle and having the lower end adapted to engage stones projecting from a ground surface, a vertically disposed plate provided with a vertical closed slot projecting longitudinally from the back of each of said arms intermediate the upper and lower ends thereof, a rotatable shaft arranged below and in parallel spaced relation to each of said axles and extending through the slots of the plates of the arms pivotally connected to the adjacent axle, a plurality of cams arranged in spaced offset relation along and fixedly carried by each of said rotatable shafts with a cam positioned within and engageable with the bounding wall of a slot of the adjacent plate, and means drivingly connecting each of said rotatable shafts to the ground engaging wheels supporting the divergent ends of the supporting bars.

3. A stone gathering machine for attachment to a farm tractor comprising a horizontally disposed frame including a pair of supporting bars arranged in converging relation with the convergent ends being spaced from each other and spaced cross bars connecting said supporting bars together, a ground engaging wheel arranged adjacent to and supporting each of the divergent ends of said supporting bars, a pair of spaced brace bars extending longitudinally of and between said convergent supporting bars and secured to said cross bars, said brace bars having end portions projecting through and beyond the convergent spaced ends of said convergent supporting bars, a ground engaging wheel supporting each of the projecting end portions of said brace bars, a horizontally disposed drawbar positioned longitudinally of said supporting bars adjacent the divergent ends of the latter and hingedly connected to the adjacent cross bar for movement from its horizontal position to an upstanding position, an axle arranged below and in longitudinal spaced relation with respect to each of the said supporting bars and dependingly supported thereon, a plurality of vertically disposed arms arranged in side by side spaced relation along each of said axles and each having the upper end pivotally connected to said axle and having the lower end adapted to engage stones projecting from a ground surface, a vertically disposed plate provided with a vertical closed :zslot m 'djectin'gz longitudinally :from :.-;the :backzrof each 0: said arms o. intermediate the upper :and lower vren'ds thereof, -'a, :rotatable shaft arranged below and in parallelispaced relation to reach 10f "said. axles am extending through the slots of the plates o'fthe arms pivotdlly connected to th'e -spacedoffset relation "along and fixedly carried "by each of said rotatable shafts with acam-positioned w'ithim and' engageable with the bounding wan -(stench orthe adjacent plate, an'd means {firiving'ly connectingeach ofi said rotatable shafts to tihe ground engaging wheels supporting the -divergent -erids- 'of th'eisupporting' bars.

' 'CI-IARLESA- EGSTAD. 

